The father as a full-fledged parent

It is time to re-evaluate the position of fathers as parents. Until recently, only the biological mother of a child was really considered a client in the healthcare and welfare system in the process around getting pregnant, during pregnancy, at birth and, in some cases, during the first 1,000 days of a child's life. This means that financing of the provision of care is based on the hours of care needed for the (future) mother and the child. A financial incentive to involve the father in this, and thus providing care and support to the entire (future) family, is missing. That is why the initiators behind this position paper, consisting of civil organisations, experts and scientists, are calling for political parties to consider fathers full-fledged parents in the context of maternity care. The importance of getting fathers involved . Research shows that partners, and fathers in particular, were until recently only involved in the care process around getting pregnant, the pregnancy itself, birth and the first 1,000 days after birth to a limited extent.